I want to live in japan!

[chimy01]

I always wanted to live in japan. But I don't know how I would be able to make that possible. Can anybody from japan help me ??

[BakaTensei]

start by learning the language, and becomes fluent enough I guess...then apply for japanese citizenship haha...not really sure myself but thats what I'm guessing you have to do

would also recremend living there for a while before you decide to live there forever...seems silly to make such a dramatic change when you might not even like the place as much as thought you would

[chimy01]

I always wanted to live in japan. But I don't know how to make that a reality. Can anyone help me acomplish that dream. I wouldn't know where to start or how to get there or get a job. I mean what steps are nedded for me to take so I can make this possible.? If anybody can help please I would apreciated very much ! Thanks

[eliasn]

Well you are just like me. Since I was a little kid I've been interested in Japan.
And last year I finally got a chance to visit and it was great!

Now I'm determined to live at least a couple of years in Japan. But as you probably now, it's difficult to get a Visa in Japan.
Well I've been working on something that will make it possible for me to live in Japan in a couple of years.

But hey tell me more about yourself. Maybe I can help you.

[Sangetsu]

You needn't. Bother learning much Japanese, unless you really want to learn it. Japanese do not hire foreigners for their Japanese ability, they hire people with skills which are hard to find in Japan.

The basic necessities required to live and work in Japan are a university education, and a skill which is in demand with Japanese employers. These skills are mainly foreign languages, finance, science, and engineering.

Manga artists and video game designers are not in high demand here lately, you would nest spend your time learning a real profession.

[GoNative]

Be aware that there's really no annual immigration intake into Japan. It's not like Australia, where I'm from, which takes in 150,000+ migrants a year. You can't just apply to come live in Japan because you think it's such an awesome place. You'll need to get a sponsored work visa to stay here any length of time or marry a Japanese person.

Even if you speak/read fluent Japanese don't expect to be able to just get a job in Japan with a Japanese company. Not only will you need the absolute minimum of a university/college degree (and depending on the position possibly many years of previous experience) but for a Japanese company to employ you you'll need to have pretty specialist skills that can't readily be found in Japan. Otherwise why would a Japanese company go to the trouble of organising a sponsored visa for you and how could they justify it to immigration?

This is why so many people get their foot in the door through english teaching. This is obviously a specialist skill that you (if your native language is english) have an advantage over the locals. Once you've got a sponsored working visa it's then reasonably easy to continue to stay here and move around between jobs. Once you have the visa you'll find many more opportunities open up as there are plenty of jobs only available to people in country with a valid visa. If you have the Japanese language skills then the range expands greatly depending on your qualifications and experience.

That's if you want to work for a Japanese company. There are of course a lot of foreign companies with branches in Japan and if you work for one of those companies you can try your hardest to get stationed here for a time. There are also quite a lot of foreigner owned companies operating out of Japan and they may mostly cater to foreigners already here or from elsewhere. These companies may not require you have Japanese language skills barely at all. And if they are providing a service or product mostly to foreigners then they may have an easier time convincing immigration that they need for instance a native english speaker to fill a position. Where I live and work there are many foreigner owned businesses involved in property development, management and sales as well as a number of tour companies. And the companies will sponsor visas for certain positions.

Still on the whole I reckon unless you've got some pretty cool skills that aren't readily found in Japan (just a heads up, there's no shortage of local anime/manga artists ) then your best bet is to try and get in through a major eikaiwa or a program like JET. Once you're in then you'll have the opportunity to start looking elsewhere if you want to move onto something different.